


Lilac (Usumurasaki)

by MidoriKurenaiYume



Series: The Wind Became Strong Again (Mata Kaze ga Tsuyoku Natta) [2]
Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Dialogue, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-07-03 18:05:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15824154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriKurenaiYume/pseuds/MidoriKurenaiYume
Summary: Even though she can't find out the truth on her own, Arturia still needs to try.





	Lilac (Usumurasaki)

**Author's Note:**

> I recommend you read "Flicker of Light (Hokage)" before this fic, otherwise it won't make much sense ;) hope you enjoy!

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Arturia forced herself to go through her routine at work during the day as calmly as possible, to make sure her behaviour didn’t come off as strange.

However, in the late afternoon, just a short while after finishing the autopsy, when a part of her materials almost fell from her hands on accident for the fourth time, she realized that she was unable to keep up a façade of normalcy.

After briefly thinking about it, she became aware of the fact that, if she had to consider how others perceived her behaviour, it was completely natural and even _expected_ for her to be shaken after having had to perform an autopsy on the body of a friend. Therefore, she reluctantly called Kotomine and requested the rest of the day off.

Since she almost never asked for free days and had already completed her work, she knew he would not be able to refuse; while there was no trace of emotion in his monotonous voice, she had a feeling that he had indeed expected her to leave work early.

This reassured her somewhat; she needed some time to understand what was going on and she needed to avoid raising any kind of suspicion as well. Whether she liked it or not, she was involved in a murder case about which she knew almost nothing so far, and as much as she wanted to understand, she had to proceed with caution and avoid taking any unnecessary risks.

She could offer no substantial proof of the fact that the dead person wasn’t Gilgamesh, even though she was certain of it; all she knew was that she had tasted wine in Gilgamesh’s mouth a week before – alcoholic wine – and she knew that he loved drinking it, but that was all. Aside from such a claim on her part, she couldn’t prove what she said, and that was the reason why, in her professional report, she had merely made sure to specify and stress the fact that there wasn’t any alcohol in the body’s liver.

She wasn’t technically supposed to know the victim’s habits and compare them with the autopsy results unless explicitly requested, because that was the investigation team’s job. She was skilled in forensic medicine, but she was no detective, and she wasn’t supposed to offer her opinions unless the team came to ask her questions, something she doubted they would do.

While she wasn’t an investigator, she could not deny that she wanted – needed – to find out the truth of what had happened. The person at the centre of it all was _Gilgamesh_ , and she wanted to know where he was, because the fact that the man she had examined wasn’t him did _not_ mean that he was alive and well. It did _not_ mean that he was _safe_.

Once she arrived home, she began to pace restlessly for a while, contemplating her possible dangerous options, before making her decision. She needed, she absolutely _needed_ to discreetly do some detective work herself, because she couldn’t stand for not knowing what was happening, and most importantly, not knowing what had happened to Gilgamesh.

She needed to be careful as well though, because it was a murder case closely related to the investigation department, which made it entirely possible for someone on the team to be part of it.

There was also the small problem of not knowing where to start.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and then attempted to concentrate as she considered the various possibilities, and the answer came to her surprisingly easily. Gilgamesh had been investigating the Tohsaka murder; she had been in charge of that autopsy a little over a week before, and she still remembered it clearly.

She considered all the facts she had once again. It wasn’t her job to make a hypothesis in regards to murders, but it _was_ her job to compare autopsies in murder cases that seemed to be connected. That would give her the opportunity to both do her job and not make anyone suspect that she was trying to gather more information. It was therefore a very good starting point.

Arturia knew however that she was probably being too optimistic. Even though she felt the strong urge to find out the truth, she didn’t have enough tools at her disposal to obtain the concrete information she was looking for. Being confined to a lab – as much as it had always been her choice to be there – had considerably limited her knowledge of the other police departments.

It certainly wasn’t going to stop her from trying anyway.

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She was careful to behave like her usual self at work. She was perhaps more quiet and reserved than usual – not that she had ever been a chatterer before – but that was unavoidable and, as she noticed after a while, more or less expected of her.

Her assistants had offered her timid words of condolences but had not dared bring up the subject of the dead agent again, which was a relief, as she had had difficulties in finding an adequate reply and had ultimately settled for a nod in thanks before resuming her work.

She had made sure to take out the notes she had written about the Tohsaka autopsy and begin to go through them, comparing those results with the ones she had obtained from the yet nameless body. There wasn’t an instant similarity to be fair, but one thing was immediately noticeable as soon as she took a closer look: they had the same blood type and had a few other traits in common that suggested they were related.

When she went to relay this to Kotomine, however, she received an unexpected piece of information from him. He dismissed her report by telling her that it wasn’t strange for the corpses to have the same blood type, as Gilgamesh had indeed been related to the Tohsaka family.

That was something she hadn’t been aware of and took her slightly aback, since it confirmed that there was indeed a connection with the Tohsaka case. She insisted slightly on this point before leaving Kotomine’s office, asking why Gilgamesh had been allowed to be involved in the investigation if he was related to the victim, as protocol demanded he stayed out of it.

Kotomine’s slight shrug gave her pause, but it didn’t take her more than a second to understand what it meant. He wasn’t above bending or outright ignoring the rules when it suited him, and as she knew that Gilgamesh was a consultant on the team for a valid reason, she could guess that Kotomine had not wanted to give up his insight on a delicate investigation that involved several powerful political corporations. She recalled that the Matou company, which had always had a bitter rivalry with the Tohsakas, was somehow involved as well.

Knowing that objecting wouldn’t change anything, Arturia took her leave, feeling somewhat discouraged. She wanted to find out what was going on, but she wasn’t apparently going to be able to do anything on her own.

Before she left her lab that evening, she received however a phone call from Kotomine. She would have expected it to be about another test he needed her to run, but it was a warning instead.

“You are becoming obsessed with this case,” he told her flatly, and she had to control the urge to scowl. She had failed spectacularly at keeping her personal interest in the murder a secret.

His following words sounded slightly more alive compared to his usual dead tone. “I’m not particularly concerned about your life, but someone would never accept it if you were put in danger. And these murders cover secrets that are dangerous.”

It was cryptic and not like Kotomine’s style at all – which meant that he was extremely serious.

Arturia couldn’t give up, because she still needed to know what had happened to Gilgamesh, but she had to acknowledge that she didn’t have any other lead to follow and she had no access to new information.

Her best hope to find out more lied in the trial that was going to take place a few days later. Aside from learning more details about the case, she was also going to have to offer her testimony both as a coroner and as an acquaintance of the dead man. She wasn’t going to lie under oath, therefore she needed to tell the truth and point out that she didn’t believe it to be Gilgamesh’s body.

She couldn’t imagine that it was going to be the place where everything was going to be revealed.

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When she was called forward to give her report as coroner on the case, Arturia listed everything she had found out about the clean cut that had severed the man’s head and a few other details about his health, together with the connection to the Tohsaka’s murder. She was about to conclude her report by bringing up his liver, but as it turned out, she didn’t have the time to add anything else because she was interrupted as the doors slammed open.

Kotomine entered the room with a handcuffed Sakura Matou in tow. There were traces of blood in her lilac hair, but her face was expressionless as she was brought in front of the judge and jury.

“This is the murderer,” Kotomine simply announced, his tone monochromatic as usual.

Once the surprise caused by the unexpected entrance faded, he proceeded to calmly explain that Tokiomi Tohsaka’s biological daughter Sakura had been given to the Matou family for adoption, where she had undergone years of abuse that had rendered her mentally unhinged.

Sakura, who seemed to be around eighteen years of age, sat in silence while he accused her of killing Tokiomi and a person who had witnessed her first murder. Her expression remained vacant and lost; she only offered a few words once she was asked about what she had to say in her defence.

“You have no proof.” Her tone was cold and confident, expression still empty but now leaning towards bored.

“I do,” Kotomine retorted flatly. “Because your second murder was witnessed as well. You didn’t realize that your second victim, who was your biological father’s twin brother, had a visitor.”

Tokiomi Tohsaka had had a twin heterozygous brother, whom Sakura had beheaded, believing him to have witnessed Tokiomi’s murder. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t the only one who knew about the twin’s existence; the Tohsakas had a distant cousin, who had gone to meet the surviving twin on that same day, and who happened to be a member of the investigation unit.

Gilgamesh had been there to talk with him about Tokiomi’s death, and had been unable to stop Sakura as she had accidentally locked the room, which had glass panels. He had however seen everything, and being a key witness, had immediately been taken into custody, for his own protection.

“Of course he is here today to testify,” Kotomine’s concluded, his tone holding just the minimal amount of satisfaction.

A moment later, Gilgamesh entered the courtroom calmly, with a hint of haughtiness, while Sakura's dead expression quickly came back to life as she tried to lunge at him when she realized what was happening. She was backed by a powerful family, the Matous, and that had helped her in her desire to get revenge on her father, but while both murders had gone according to her desires, she hadn’t realized that there had been a witness to the second one and that he had escaped.

She had to be restrained while Gilgamesh spoke in front of the court. He sounded bored but nonetheless very accurate in his description of the evening of the murder, proving that his testimony was paramount.

The trial ended temporarily when a Matou lawyer, who had been called to represent the company’s interests, formally requested a mental health evaluation for Sakura.

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“She’s not going to be sent to prison, but to a mental hospital. She committed two crimes, that is undeniable, but they are nothing compared to what she went through at the hands of that dysfunctional family.”

“I believe it’s the best solution,” Arturia offered, keeping her expression neutral. “What she did was horrible, but she needs and deserves help.”

Gilgamesh nodded, but didn’t add anything more about the Tohsaka murders. He was standing in front of her, in the empty corridor outside the courtroom, and Arturia’s eyes seemed to be glued to him.

He was regarding her closely but seemed slightly surprised by her intense stare.

“You look angry,” he remarked, eyes scanning her face intently. After a short pause, he amended, frowning, “Or maybe displeased. Are you disappointed in yourself for not realizing that the body wasn’t mine?”

Her voice was quite cold when she couldn’t help answering immediately, without hesitation, “I knew that it wasn’t you.”

There was a brief pause, then she elaborated, “I didn’t tell Kotomine, because I didn’t believe he could be trusted.”

“In that, you were right, because he is not,” Gilgamesh said lightly. “Yet–”

She anticipated his objection by adding, “I wasn’t in a position to know anything for certain.”

He raised an eyebrow, and she felt compelled to continue, showing to be slightly affronted, “It wasn’t my place to point it out because I had no proof, but if you had read my report, you would have noticed that I stressed some particular points that made it obvious that it couldn’t be you.” Her eyes were steely. “I thought you were aware of the fact that I know you well enough to recognize your supposed dead body. As you acknowledged yourself, I _am_ good at my job.”

Her voice cracked slightly, which made his gaze sharpen, but she was too angry with herself for letting a moment of weakness be seen – especially by him – to hesitate any longer. “Did you expect me to be unaffected when I was told that you were dead? When I realized whose body I was going to have to examine? When I thought you to be gone?”

Her eyes flashed in anger as she took a step closer. “You couldn’t have said _something?_ Just to let me know that you were alive and well?”

He scoffed, but he did look away for a second.

“You didn’t report anything to Kotomine, which made him assume you didn’t notice anything amiss. He may have had his fair share of sadistic enjoyment in it as well, but he and the other agents decided it wasn’t safe enough to say anything–”

She interrupted him again.

“Did you truly believe I wouldn’t notice that it wasn’t you? It was only because I had no proof that I didn’t say anything. You know I don’t speculate; I go by facts.”

He seemed decidedly irritated once again.

“You knew the dead one wasn’t me, so wasn’t that enough?”

“Of course not!” She raised her voice almost unconsciously. “I had no idea where you were, and that meant that while you may not be the dead body on my table, you could have very well been lying dead somewhere else!”

He was taken aback by her intensity, but she wasn’t finished yet. “Next time, please let me know that you are fine. It will… help, for my mental peace.”

He was extremely amused but also looked somewhat pleased.

“You are allowed to say that you were worried, Arturia. And why do you assume there will be a next time?”

She met his gaze and this time looked as if she was able to read him with her eyes.

“Because that’s who you are. You enjoy the danger, and the more shady investigations are interesting for you, and since you don’t do things by halves, you will see them to the end, no matter the dangers. That’s who you are.”

He inclined his head, acknowledging the truth in her words, and after a pause, slowly spoke again.

“If I let you know,” he paused briefly, “it means that you will have to accept what I do.”

“That’s who you are,” she repeated. “I accept it. I accept _you_. But you can still let me _know_ what you do. You can still let me know whether or not you are _alive_.”

He came to stand right in front of her, his hands coming to touch her shoulders lightly and then caressing her down her arms before hugging her tightly.

“If those are the only conditions, of course I will,” he murmured in her ear, the absence of a teasing tone making her shiver in spite of herself.

He leaned down to meet her lips, and while the kiss was no less intense than usual, this time it was gentler. Less surprise in it, more earnestness.

He pulled back then and smirked at her.

“So, I heard that your work is done for today? You owe me _several_ dates, Arturia, and I fully intend to collect them all.”

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**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from a Kalafina song, part of the album 'Far on the Water' ;) the reason for it is of course Sakura's hair colour :P  
> Thank you so much for reading!!!


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